LIBRARY OF CONGRESSJ 



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I UNITED STATES OP AMERICA. J 




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MADISON'S 

EXPOSITION 






Awful and Terrifying 
CEREMONIES 



Odd Fellows 



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Price 25 Cents 




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Riding the Goat. 



AN EXPOSITION 

OF THE 

FORMS AND USAGES 

OBSERVED IN THE VARIOUS LODGES 

OF THE 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS, 

AS ORGANIZED IN THE UNITED STATES. 

TOGETHER WITH A FULL ACCOUNT OP THE 

AWFUL AND TERRIFYING CEREMONIES 

ATTENDANT UPON THE INITIATION OF A NEW MEMBEK 
INTO THE ORDER. 



" SECRECY OR DEATH. 



BY JAMES M. MADISON, 

Late of the Knickerbocker Lodge of the City of New- York, 




NEW-YORK: 

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR, 

1848. 



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Entered according to an Act of Congress, in the year one thousand 
eight hundred and forty seven, by Justus Smith, in the Clerk's Office 
of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New-York. 




The Hall of Repentance. 



FORMS AND CEREMONIES 

OF THE 

INDEPENDENT ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS. 

I tremble at the fearful task I have undertaken, but the 
goadings of a newly awakened conscience will not permit me 
to rest easy, until I have relieved my mind of the burden that 
oppresses it. In fact, I feel imperatively called upon, alike 
as a loyal citizen and an humble christian, to make the pre- 
sent exposure : for, (as the reader of this pamphlet will soon 
discover.) a man who remains faithful to the pledge of Odd 
Fellowship, can be neither one or the other. 

Let no man smile at so grave an opening to a work appa- 
rently so trifling. If the pages are few, their contents are 
fearful. And furthermore, I may well be serious in giving 
them to the public ; for their appearance will make me up- 
wards of a hundred thousand interested and vigilant enemies, 
all sworn by the special oaths of their order to destroy my 
life. However, feeling that I can only be silent as a traitor 
to my country, and at the risk of my very salvation, I willing- 
ly hazard my existence in the exercise of what I consider my 
most solemn duty. 

I have two motives for publishing this exposure in my own 
name. The one, to give its authenticity the fullest warrant, 
so that it may have no drawback in stirring up the heart of 
the nation : and the other, because the Odd Fellows may be 
afraid, as powerful as they are, to make away with a person 
whom the public are watching. Dreading the renewal of a 
Morgan excitement, they may not lightly incur its risk, and 
in this presumption lies my greatest hope of safety. 



Noah is claimed as the founder of modern Odd Fellowship ; 
but its origin is remotely ante-deluvian. Such, at least, is the 
tradition of the order ; but in fact, it came into existence in 
England not more than a century ago, and was founded by a 
man named Charles Trevors, who had been expelled by the 
Free Masons, for endeavoring to introduce dangerous politi- 
cal opinions into their lodges. This Trevors was a very sin- 
gular man ; and the germ of the society was composed of 
men as singular as himself, from which it derived its appel- 
lation of the "ORDER OF ODD FELLOWS." The origi- 
nal intention was a political club ; circumstances, however, 
interfered, and it became a mutual protection and benefit 
society ; and now it is an admixture of all three. 

But, as I am not professing to write a history of the order, 
I will enter at once into the direct subject of my pamphlet. 

Having solicited to become a member of the Knickerbocker 
Lodge, and passed successfully through the out door exami- 
nation, I proceeded to my initiation, on the evening of the 8th 
of May, 1844. 

The door was opened to the knock and countersign of the 
member who introduced me ; and no sooner was my foot over 
the threshold than my head was enveloped in a cap or bag, 
which was fastened round my neck; and left me in utter dark- 
• ness. I was then lifted from the ground by an iron hook, and 
suspended to a pivot in the ceiling, when I was whirled 
round and round with considerable velocity, until my brains 
reeled again, and then flung to the ground so rudely, as to 
hurt me not a little, and frighten me a great deal. A voice 
now exclaimed : 

" Mortal, thou art now at liberty to depart or proceed — 
which dost thou choose ?" 

I answered, "To proceed." 

" It is well," returned the voice ; " if thine heart remains 
steadfast to the end ; but otherwise, thou hadst better never 
been born." 




flM- 
Guardian of the Threshold. 



I was now hurried in silence, but unmolested, through a 
number of winding passages, when suddenly the cap was 
withdrawn from my face, and I found myself in a large apart- 
ment, and in the presence of a number of men variously en- 
gaged. They wore none of the regalia, or other marks of 
Odd Fellowship ; but there was a general appearance of 
mummery and disguise about them, and a few of them seem- 
ed to be dwarfs, This, however, I subsequently ascertained 
to be an optical illusion, produced by the arrangement of the 
light ; which, by the way, was very dim, and gave every 
thing an indistinct and dreamy appearance. 

This apartment is called "THE HALL OF REPEN- 
TANCE," from the fact, that the novice is here permitted to 
retract, if he is afraid to go on with his initiation, for he is 
yet unsworn ; but when he takes the first oath, he has be- 
come a " Demi Neophyte" and after that he has no choice. 

I was in the " Hall of Repentance" about ten minutes, 
when there was a horrid crash, and the light was extinguish- 
ed ; but almost at the same instant a faint phosphoric flame 
revealed a tall, oddly dressed figure, with a false-face, and 
long hair and beard, standing on a pedestal. This figure 
immediately addressed me in a sepulchral voice. 

" Mortal, art thou afraid ?" 

I answered, " No." 

"I am" continued the figure, "the GUARDIAN OF THE 
THRESHOLD," which must not be polluted by a coward? 
Go ! Depart in peace ! — Thou tremblest ! Thou art not equal 
to the inner trial? 

"I do not tremble," I replied, "I am anxious to proceed 
with my initiation. 

" Remember mortal, and reflect," continued the figure, 
" that thou art now free to withdraw thyself from all connec- 
tion with this most ancient, mighty, and honorable of all or- 
ders. But, if thou persistest in resolving the next mystery, 
thou art ours, in life — in death — and for ever ! 



6 

"I persist." 

Whereupon the Guardian of the Threshold sunk through the 
pedestal; but by the same faint light, I saw advancing to- 
wards me, like a figure in phantasmagoria, another strange 
looking being, who was also distinguished by a false-face and 
long beard. As he approached, he unloosed a scroll, and 
having considered it for a few seconds, questioned me as fol- 
lows, likewise in a voice of the deepest bass. 

" Thy name is James M. Madison ?" 

"It is." 

Here followed queries in reference to my age, occupation, 
&c, which I omit, as they are unimportant in connection 
with my design, and would be of no interest to the reader. 
The figure then proceeded: 

" And thou art determined to separate thyself from the 
grosser world, and become one of us ?" 

" I am." 

" The honors of Odd Fellowship are great, and must be 
dearly purchased. Your heart may quail before we have 
done with you." 

" Be it so, I'll venture." 

" Hast thou examined thyself ? Couldst thou keep an oath 
of secresy against all temptation ?" 

u I could." 

"Even though it were what men might call an illegal 
one?" 

" I would try." 

'"That answer wont do? — Could'st thou, or could'st thou 
not ? Say yes or no !" 

"Yes." 

« Then behold in me, the GRAND ARCH PRIEST, who 
must unite you to our most illustrious order, by a marriage, 
from which there is no divorce — for ours once, ours ever ! 
Lift up your right hand in attitude to swear !" 

I did so. 




Grand Arch Priest. 



" Witnesses attend !" 

Whereupon a chorus of invisible members answered : 

" We are here — We are here, 
With watchful eye, and wakeful ear ! 
Swear not mortal, if your soul 
Be not as firm as the fix'd pole ; 
Or if 'twill wander from thine oath as far 
As the true needle from the northern star !" 
When the Grand Arch Priest continued : 
" Repeat the oath which I shall now pronounce to you, 
slowly and distinctly, word for word ; and as you ke,ep or 
break it, so, be assured, shall heaven reward or curse you/' 
And I duly solemnized the oath, which was as follows : 

" By all things earthly and divine, 
Jew, Christian, Turk, and Heathen sign ; 
My father's soul — my mother's fame — 
My children's hope — my own good name : 
The virtue of my wife — the dead — > 

The living ! — the eternal sun ! 
By that right hand, which wins my bread — 

By each apart — and all in one 
I swear — (and call on heaven to take 
Due record of the oath I make,) 
Never — by signal, or word spoken — 
Or aught that might afford a token, 
(Though law, religion, death and pain 
Should join, to wring it from my brain ;) 
The slightest tittle to reveal 
Of what this order would conceal ! 
Those secrets shall for ever rest 
Betwixt my God, and my own breast ! 
And further, I consent to be, 
Lost as a rain-drop in the sea, 
Into this Order, dread and high, 
Until with mightier death I lie ; 
And have no separate heart or soul, 
Save as a portion of the whole ! 
Its power to aid, with purpose true — 
To do whate'er it bids me do! 
With suffering, reason, hand, and breath, 
And not to falter, unto death : 
All this I swear ! I swear ! I swear ! 
And pray — All nature hear my prayer, 



8 

Even as my oath is kept or riven — 
So help me, or so curse me heaven !" 

And then the invisible members broke forth in deep and 
solemn chorus : 

" Even as thy oath is kept or riven, 
So help thee, or so curse thee heaven !" 

Whereon the Grand Arch Priest exclaimed, with a majes- 
tic fervor : 

" Amen ! So be it ! He is ours. Mortal, thou art accept- 
ed ! And now we resign thee to the powers of light and 
darkness, to impress upon thy soul the fearfulness of the res* 
ponsibilities thou hast assumed." 

And the words were immediately followed by a crashing 
sound, like a mixture of gongs and thunder ; and at the same 
instant the floor opened beneath me, and I was precipitated 
into a place of utter darkness, strongly impregnated with an 
odor highly sulphurous, which seemed to have an effect on 
me of partial intoxication. Before I had well recovered my- 
self from the confusion incident on my sudden descent, the 
darkness began gradually to give way to a pale green light, 
by which I perceived that I was apparently alone in a smaH 
apartment ; but a loud hiss announced the vicinity of some 
living thing ; and on looking in the direction whence it ema- 
nated, I observed, emerging from an aperture in the wall, a 
large snake, curled around an enormous pen, which it held 
with the nib downwards, as if in attitude to write : and to 
strengthen this idea, there were several sheets of paper, and 
an ink-bottle on the floor before it. The tail of this reptile, 
which waved uneasily to and fro, terminated in a human 
hand, and its whole appearance was most life-like and mons- 
trous. 

I was of course aware that all this was machinery ; but* 
nevertheless, I must admit that it frightened me ; but to this 
end, as I was afterwards made aware, the nervous effect of 
the impregnated atmosphere greatly contributed. And in 




Recording Genii of the Root of Neeessary Evil. 



9 

fact, throughout the whole trial, the Neophyte feels in a super- 
natural state of alarm, produced by the action of the agent 
aforesaid, and which, under other circumstances, he would, 
perhaps, himself laugh at. It has almost as powerful an 
effect as laughing gas, and compels one to view things through 
a false medium. Thus, while 1 was under its influence, my 
reason was partially obscured, and I felt, in a manner, as 
though I were in a world of enchantment. 

Thff serpent having regarded me for upwards of a minute, 
with eyes of actual lire, said in a deep measured voice — for 
the words. actually proceeded from its mouth. 

" Oh ! thou who hast rashly intruded thyself into the 
REGION "OF JRIAL, knowest thou what is the most 
mighty of things^ 

"God." W, 

" Thou hast answered well. What next ?'' 

" Truth." 

'* Thou liest — truth is a pauper, and starves in rags ! What 
is that which makes law a farce — love false — friendship a 
name — justice blind — and which governs the world ?" 

" Money." 

" Again thou hast spoken well ! And hast thou come pre- 
pared with the customary tribute V 

" I have." 

" Then give — give — give. For behold in me the RECORD- 
ING GENI OF THE ROOT OF NECESSARY EVIL! 

And the reptile held forth its hand, in which I deposited 
the fee of initiation, when it wrote, and then addressed me 
thus : 

" So far mortal all is well ; 

Thou hast answered with the power 
Which shuts the very gates of hell, 

And ope's the way to beauty's bower ; 
Law and justice, love and fame 

Shall bow before you while you live, 
If thou to them but do the same 



10 

As now to me. Give — give — give — give ! 
Thee honored, gracious, it can make ; 

But mark me mortal ! By the light 
Of heaven — and by the burning lake, 

Where traitors howl in endless night ; 
And by the cunning of the snake, 

Which placed thy race beneath its might. 
It cannot save thee, if thou break 

The oaths which thou shalt take to-night. 
But go vain trembler to thy fate, 

There's torture in a moment's stay — 
And all repentance comes too late 

Lo ! death's behind — Away, away." 

And again all was darkness ; but a sudden glimmer, (pro- 
duced for the purpose,) revealing an open door, I passed 
through it into another apartment, and found myself in the 
presence of three hideous looking beings, who appeared to be 
sitting in consultation. Of course I knew they were men ; 
but they bore so close a resemblance to one's general idea of 
devils, that they actually startled me, and produced (owing 
no doubt to the state of nervous excitement I was in, occa- 
sioned by atmospheric influence,) a vague impression that 
they might in fact be in league with the supernatural. Their 
faces were actually diabolical ; and if they wore masks, they 
were no common ones ; for they changed their expressions ; 
and when the figures spoke, their lips moved. 

This apartment was illuminated by a dark red light, which 
increased the hideousness of three of its inhabitants, and 
perhaps made the indecision — hovering between fear and 
reason — of the fourth, appear somewhat ludicrous. 

" I smell a traitor," said one. 

" Good," exclaimed another, " for then his body will soon 
be with the worms, and his soul with us !" 

" How do you know he's a traitor ?" asked the third. 

" Because he trembles," replied the first, " and all cowards 
are traitors. But let us question him." 
. " Art thou a coward V* 

"No." 




The Council of Three. 



11 

" A traitor V* 

"No." 

" Wilt thou ever break the oaths thou hast this night taken?" 

" Never." 

" If you do I will tear you !" 

" And I," said the second, " will throw you for a sop to 
Cerberus." 

" And I," added the third, " will fricify your soul upon your 
bones in Tartarus !" 

" Repeat what I tell you with lifted hand," said the first. 
And I repeated the following lines, word for word. 

May my life be full of wo ; 
May my death no solace know ; 
May poverty, and shame, and crime, 
Beset me through all future time ; 
May my very wife betray me ; 
May my children curse and slay me ; 
May fiercest penal tortures be, 
My portion through eternity ; 
1/ ever I, by word or line, 
By faintest symbol, hint, or sign, 
Make known to mortal eye, or ear, 
Aught which to-night I see, or hear ! 
All this I swear by that raised hand ; 
By the firm ground on which I stand ; 
By life — by death — by all things blest ; 

By all my hopes to be forgiven ; 
And as I fail, or stand the test, 

So curse me, or so help me, heaven." 

" Thou hast burdened thy soul with a fearful oath," con- 
tinued the first speaker, " canst thou keep it ?" 

"lean." 

"Wilt thou?" 

" I will." . 

" So shalt thou prosper," he added, " and see us no more. 
But otherwise — 

" Men shall contemn you ; 
And justice condemn you ; 
And friendship shall rue you ; 



12 

And daggers pursue you ; 

And vengeance destroy you ; 

And furies annoy you ! 
For wo — infamy — vengeance — or sooner, or later, 
And the torture of hell, are the doom of the traitor." 

" But," he continued, producing a bottle and glass, " pledge 
us the cup of everlasting secresy." 

" What is it ?" I enquired. 

" The waters of subordination ! Henceforth thou shalt ask 
no questions, but do the bidding of the order ! Drink." 

And I drank the proffered liquor, which was almost taste- 
less ; but it soon spread a peculiar glow through my system, 
and increased my excitement. 

" Now," exclaimed the three demons in concert, •* for the 
ceremony of the tar and feathers." 

" For whom ?" said I. 

M For you, to be sure — to remind you of your oath !" 

" I won't stand that," said I. 

" Ha !" cried the principal speaker, " a traitor already ! 
Perjurer ! — where is thy subordination ?" 

And I began to deliberate what course to pursue, for 1 
really supposed they were about to tar and feather me, when 
a distant voice exclaimed, " Where are your legs ? — you are 
safe if you can outrun them !" And, on looking in the direc- 
tion of the sound, I saw a long gallery, through which I 
dashed at full speed, the three devils being close at my heels, 
yelling as though they were actual exotics from the infernal 
regions. 

At the other end of this gallery stood a ricketty ladder, 
of apparently immense length, hung round with a number 
of curious emblems ; but the rungs were only supported by 
one pole ; on the other side, however, was a pole of equal 
length, in the form of a writing pen, which was evidently 
designed as an assistance to the climber. 

The top of this ladder was lost in gloom ; but presuming 
it was intended that I should mount it, and seeing no other 



v\\S\ ill/ Li* j 





N 




Ascent of the Ladder of Trial. 



13 

mode of escape, up I went, though the rungs bent beneath 
me, and were so slight towards the top that 1 became seri- 
ously alarmed lest I might be precipitated down headlong- 
I therefore thought of descending, and resigning myself to 
the tar and feathers ; but as I stood in deliberation, all the 
lower rungs fell to the ground, carrying the three devils — 
who were still in full pursuit — heels over head along with 
them. This caused me to advance, hoping for an outlet 
above ; but still, as I proceeded, the step I last stood on . 
shared the fate of the others ; and to increase the difficulty, 
the rungs seemed to grow weaker, and the pole began- to 
bend, while a cold sweat of mortal terror bedewed me all 
over ; for I was really in a very perilous position, and could 
see no mode of escape ; and yet, to augment my alarm, I 
was now as high as I could go, and the last rung I could 
reach was trembling under me ; but just as it gave way, I 
was seized by some powerful, but unseen agent, and rolled 
down an inclined plain ; which, by the many revolutions I 
made, and the length of time it took me, in getting to the 
bottom, I was aware must be of considerable extent. 

This, while it abated my alarm, increased my confusion, 
and made me so dizzy, that I regained my feet with difficulty ; 
and then I perceived by the smell (for all was as black as 
pitch) that I was in a damp, earthy place, which had greatly 
the odor of a church-yard vault. The gloom, however, 
again gave way to that sort of grey light which just makes 
darkness visible ; and to my absolute horror I found myself 
surrounded by six dancing skeletons, all gibbering at me like 
so many ghosts, while one of them chaunted, or appeared to 
chaunt the following : 

" Ho— ho— ho ! 

I smell breath, 
With the shades below 

In the land of death ! 
Room — room — room, 

Ye perjured crew, 
In a traitor's tomb 

For a traitor true ! 



14 

" Traitors are we 

Who departed life, 
For our perjury, 

On the judgment knife. 
And all who thus 

May tempt its ire, 
Shall feel like us 

Its vengeance dire. 
Ho — ho — ho ! 

I smell breath, 
With the shades below, 

In the land of death. 
Room — room — room ! 
Ye perjured crew, 
In a traitor's tomb 
For a traitor true !" 
" I died on a dirk, for swearing against a brother," exclaim- 
ed the first skeleton. " What did'st thou to be buried 
alive ?" 
" Like me, he suffers for disobedience," answered another. 
" Or, like me, for insubordination," muttered the third. 
" Or, like me, for mocking the Order to my friends," res- 
ponded the fourth. 

" Or, like me, for threatening to publish the secrets," cried 
the fifth. 

"Or, like me, for revealing the mystery of mysteries," 
(meaning the initiation,) added the sixth. 

And then they again danced around me, to the rattling of 
their bones, which sounded like a concert of castanets in 
some demoniac melody : after which, they clutched me with 
their neshless hands, and were dragging me towards a yawn- 
ing tomb, when a ghost-like figure appeared at some distance, 
^and sung the lines annexed, in a sweet, but sepulchral voice : 
44 Traitors vile, unhand the glorious ! 
He is still, in truth victorious. 
The dagger did a righteous duty, 
That gave you to the fiends for booty ! 
Down perjured caitiffs, and atone, 
With endless pang, and bootless groan 
For broken oaths — in graves unknown." 




The Warning Ghost. 



15 

And instantly the skeletons vanished, and I stood alone, 
confronting the friendly vision, which beckoned me towards 
it. 

" Mortal," it said, in the same sweet voice : " Be not de- 
ceived, by referring all that you have seen to phantasy, or 
machinery ; for these were really the bones of perjured Odd 
Fellows, and their words are sooth." 

" But, good heavens !" I exclaimed, " Were they mur- 
dered?" 

" The epithet befits not the subject," answered the vision : 
" For as the dog dies, so dies the traitor. But wilt thou re- 
member what thou hast now heard and seen ?" 

" I certainly shall," said I, " so long as I remember any 
thing." 

" Beware how you forget them, or treat them lightly," re- 
newed the spectre : "for I am the WARNING GHOST, and 
therefore would not lead you astray, as the fidelity of the 
Order, is the glory of my repose. I repeat to you, that you 
have heard truths, and seen traitors. But be steadfast, and 
fear not. And now cross thine arms before thee, and with 
all due solemnity, and singleness of purpose, and sanctity of 
heart, repeat my words." 

" I did so, and the words follow : 

" By this blest sign of Christian grace, 

Which thus mine arms before me place, 

I swear, in all solemnity, 

To keep my oaths of secresy : 

Nor law — religion — wealth — or art, 

Shall wring that secret from my heart ; 

I'd tear to atoms friend or lover, 

Or e'er they shall one jot discover ! 

My wife might perish as a foe, 

Before she should my secret know! 

Which ne'er shall find, or sign, or breath, 

Until I yield it up to death ! 

And further, by this cross I swear, 

My hand shall do — my soul shall dare — 

(Nor question aught — nor deem it crime,) 



16 

Whatever task, in future time, 
The Brotherhood may bid me do, 
Else may I, as a traitor rue ! 
Even may my bosom feel the glaive — 
Even may I rot in secret grave : 
Even may I find a traitors doom 
Forever, in a fiery tomb ! 
For I am theirs, and they are mine, 
United by a bond divine, 
Which nothing under heaven can sever, 
But the vile crime that blasts forever !"' 
"But now," continued the vision in prose, " proceed in the 
strength of truth, and fear not ; but waver, and you are lost. 
The way is dreary, and the darkness impenetrable ; but you 
will find a lamp burning in a tomb, which you are permitted 
to take ; as without that light, which is in itself a mystery, 
and emblematic of faith, you could never pass the Desert of 
the boundless and Hopeless ! Depart in love, peace, faith, 
hope, and charity. Thy way is to the right. 

" And if you keep the oaths you've taken 
Never shalt thou be forsaken : 
Though all beside should disapprove thee, 
The Brotherhood shall cheer and love thee : 
But, oh ! beware ! — beware ! — beware ! 
For if you break these oaths you swear, 
Even to the value of a hair. 
Nothing from our wrath shall guide you — 
Nothing from our vengeance hide you ! — 
Wilds and wastes we'll cross to find you, 
Walls we'll climb, should prisons bind you, 
Until a reeking corpse you lie, 
The ' Warning Ghost ' to justify !" 
Proceeding as directed, I walked on — on — on, marvelling 
much at the extent of the place, as I was then unacquainted 
with the mysteries of the Egyptian, or I should rather say, 
Pagan labyrinth, which continues to wind and wind — though 
all is an apparently longitudinal extension : and I was still 
groping my way, when I was caught up" by another mighty 
engine, and borne along for several seconds without touching 
the ground ; and when I was again restored to it, I perceiv- 



•1 




The Boundless and Hopeless. 



17 

ed that I was in a sort of marsh, every second step through 
which, sunk me over my instep in mud and water. Still I 
could see nothing, for all around was pitchy blackness ; but 
by-and-by, an adjacent glimmer reminded me of the promised 
lamp, which I found in a tomb, in the hands of an upright 
skeleton, which extended itself in a coffin, the moment I had 
removed it. 

But this lamp served but to increase my astonishment 
and alarm ; for its light could only pierce the thick damp 
gloom to a very inconsiderable distance, so that it gave the 
place the resemblance which its name claimed for it, viz : 
that of a " houndless and a hopeless desert" And then I could 
feel slimy things twisting and crawling beneath me, like 
snakes and toads ; and ever and anon, red flamy eyes would 
be fixed on mine ; and from time to time, troops of human 
skeletons would rattle past, making the horrors of the way 
yet more hideous with their dismal howlings. 

Surely, thought I, this cannot be all mere human contri- 
vance and machinery ; it must be actual witchcraft ! And 
then, all the fearful stories which I had heard of the super- 
natural powers of Masonry and Odd Fellowship, rushed upon 
my soul — and I was so smitten with terror, that I thought 
I would have fainted; and in fact,, I was on the point of call- 
ing for relief, when my lamp was snatched from my hand, 
and went flitting over the marsh, (seemingly by its own 
agency,) like an ignus fatuus ; and almost at the same mo- 
ment, I was precipitated into a cavern, and then dragged for- 
ward by a hand with claws, and forced rudely into a chair. 

" This is going rather too far with your mummery," I ex- 
claimed : for to say nothing of my fears, my patience had 
entirely expended itself. 

" Ho ! ho ! just sworn to subordination and obedience, and 
' kicking against the pricks,' and half perjured already !" res- 
ponded a mocking voice. " Good ! — I like your spirit ! You'll 
be one of us ! Ho ! ho ! ho!" 
2 



18 

" What do you mean ?" said I. 

" Never mind !" replied the voice. " But lights there Bel- 
zebub ! — I say lights ! Ho ! ho ! ho!" 

And immediately a dull blue light made the cavern dimly 
visible, and I found myself at a rough table, well provided 
with provision and liquor, while opposite to me was seated 
the very devil himself. At all events, (owing perhaps to the 
unnatural frame of mind which I was in at the time,) I could 
hardly persuade myself that the figure I beheld was any 
thing else. It was hideous, grim, sardonic, bony, fiendishly 
jocular, and at least ten feet high. And to complete the 
picture, there were reptiles on the floor, and skeletons and 
goblins grinning through the gloom. 

" Ho ! ho !" exclaimed my infernal companion : " Come 
comrade, drink." 

" I won't drink with such a comrade as you," said I. 

" Ho ! ho !" returned the fiend — •• A coward ! — I knew it ! 
He is one of us ! Ho ! ho ! ho !" 

" You are a fool — and as false as you are hideous, to say 
so ;" said I, struggling against my superstition : " So if you 
warrant the liquor not to be poison, here goes." 

"Its the pride of the market," returned my companion, 
with a chuckle ; and then he broke out into the subjoined 
doggrels : — 

" It's prime, prime, prime — drink it up — drink it up, 

It will make you beg for another cup ; 

It will make you proud — it will make you strong ; 

It will make you sing, if you have a song ; 

It will make you see, no devil in me, 

But a jolly old chap, for a jolly good spree ; 

And then I'll bet you a bottle for both, 

It will make you — Ho ! ho ! — break your oath !" 
" Done," said I, drinking one glass, which was so good and 
refreshing, (and I really had need of some refreshment,) that 
I followed it with another, and then with a third. And fi- 
nally, the devil did in fact, look less devilish to me, and I sang 
to humor the joke ; and in a word, I was somewhat beside 




Temptation. 




Fidelity Rewarded. 



19 

myself. And then my companion began to question me 
about my oath, and to call me coward for not revealing it ; 
and anon, he began to bluster; and producing two foils, 
challenged me to fight. 

'** Nonsense," said I. 

" Then, take that," said he, knocking me down. 

Whereupon, being half wild with liquor, passion, and the 
strange events of the night. I slipped off my coat ; seized a 
foil, and rushing at my antagonist, to my utter horror, ran 
him right through the body. 

He fell, with a shriek so natural and full of torture, that it 
paralyzed me ; and to increase my, horror, all again was pro- 
found darkness. " Good heavens !" I exclaimed, " perhaps I 
have made a tragedy of this diabolical farce — for surely that 
was a living thing, and no automaton !" 

But I was speedily relieved from this embarrassment, by a 
voice exclaiming: 

" Victory over the fiend, is the ' reward of fidelity? But fly, 
for time presses." 

And in a manner I did " fly," for I was suddenly lifted from 
the dungeon, and again placed in the marsh, over which I 
wandered for several minutes, seriously inclined to believe, 
that I was really in the hands of evil spirits : for while I 
might readily account for the falling rungs, skeletons, devils, 
and so forth, by referring them to machinery, I could not 
realize the notion, that all I had passed through, had occur, 
red in three floors of between two and three thousand square 
feet each. Since then, however, my surprise has suffered 
some abatement, as I have been initiated into many of the 
mysteries of scene-shifting in the Parisian theatres ; and like- 
wise have read of the wonders performed of old, by machi- 
nery in the Pagan temples. But still, I have not altogether 
recovered from that night's alarms ; nor would I, with all the 
knowledge since acquired, undertake for any wealth to under- 
go a thorough renewal of them. 



20 

Again, there was a bluish light, and I beheld a scene 
ludicrous in print, but to a person circumstanced as I then 
was, and feeling as I then felt, horrible enough in reality — 
namely, the hideous form which I had lately prostrated, 
stretched out, and stiff in death, while immediately over the 
corpse and grinning at me, sat its very counter-part. The 
intention was plain. They were the body and the spirit ! 
A dead devil — and a dead devil's ghost. 

Having mocked and mowed at me for some time, this 
spectre, or spectre's spectre rather, addressed me thus : 

" Ho ! ho ! ho ! 

There you go, 

Fiend blood spiller — 

Demon killer — 

Because so loath 

To break an oath, 

Which now, no doubt, 

You'll break right out 

When I invoke you; 

Or else 1 11 choke you ! 

Ho ! ho ! ho ! 

Say yes, or no ?" 

" No ; you death upon wines," said I, though it is to be 
admitted that my valor was half assumed. " So make haste, 
and let us put an end to this mummer}-." 
Whereon the spectre continued : 
Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ho ! ho ! ho ! 

Are you mocking 1 — Are you serious 1 
Can you hope unscathed to go 

From a foeman so imperious ? 
Why should you your oaths revere ? 

Lovers break them with their wenches ; 
Juries every day forswear ; 

And judges grave, upon their benches, 
Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ho ! ho ! ho ! 
Ha ! you fear the reeking knife ! 

Well, that is something to astound you ; 
For on your faith depends your life, 

And countless eyes will watch around you, 
But ho ! who fears them ? Let them pry ! 




The Resurrection. 



21 

They can but kill who have betrayed them ; 
Their daggers' points you may defy ! 

Although you never can evade them ! 
Ha ! ha ! ha ! Ho ! ho ! ho ! 

As he finished speaking, the blue light again died out, and 
I wandered off through the darkness, to the end of securing 
better footing, which I soon achieved ; but had scarcely time 
to congratulate myself on the event, before mine ears were 
assailed with the most dismal and dreadful screeching, 
howling, and rattling of chains, that ever were heard out of 
bedlam. I was absolutely horror struck at the diabolical 
uproar ; as diabolical it was both in the intention and 
result ; for I had no doubt that the design was to imitate 
the wailings of the damned ; and I was equally sure that 
the effect was fully in accordance with it. 

At intervals between the wailing and howling, I could 
hear various exclamations such as the following : 

" I was stabbed for showing the grip to my mother !" 

" And I for teaching it to my wife." 

" And I for explaining it to my sweet-heart." 

"Oh,^men — women — women — they have been the cause 
of all our sorrows !" 

'• I died and I burn for making the signs public !" 

" And I for revealing the secrets of initiation !" 

« And I—" 

"And I—" 

" There is no escaping their vengeance !" 

" They have eyes everywhere." 

" He to whom I told my secret — as a secret — was Arch 
Deacon of the Order ; and on tjiat same night my body was 
in the Hudson, and my soul here !" 

" Howl !" " howl !" howl !" " Shriek !" Rattle !" "rattle !" 
" rattle !"* 

Suddenly the ground opened, emitting from its entrails a 
vivid red light, significant of the state of affairs below; and 



22 

in the midst of this appeared seven appalling figures, which 
had a mixed resemblance of ghosts, wizzards, and witches. 
And while these frightful things were staring at me with 
fixed and ferocious eyes, and withal, with an expression of 
horrible mirthfulness, one of them, who had an appearance 
of authority, sung these verses : 

" Mortal come : — a word will bring thee 

To this home of happy traitors, 

Where delightful strains we'll sing thee 

To the gnashing of thy grators ! 

Howl howl howl ! 

That's the way 

Traitors growl, 

Both night and day. 

Though we roast them, and fry them, and baste them, and 

grease them, 
And do all we can for to comfort and please them — 

Say the word — the dagger's gleaming, 

Which shall pierce your heart or liver ; 
And we have got a chamber steaming, 
Where we'll stew your soul forever ! 
Howl ! howl ! howl ! 

That's the way 
Traitors growl, 
Both night and day. 

Though we roast them, a.nd fry them, and baste them,' and 

grease them, 
And do all we can for to comfort and please them — 

On the ceasing of the song, the figures danced a saraband, 
to the measure of the sounds of torment beneath. But sud- 
denly they stopped, when, each placing her hand on one ear, 
as if attentively listening to some distant sounds, they pro- 
ceeded with the following duett, or dialogue, in which each 
and all took a part : 

First Witch. " My cat's a mewing." 

Second Witch. " There's mischief brewing." 

Third Witch. " My right ear's hot." 

Fourth Witch. " Prepare a pot." 

Fifth Witch. " The next we'll stew—" 

Sixth Witch. " And roast him too." 




Torture of Traitors. 



23 

Seventh Witch. " But hist ! hist ! hist !" 
First Witch. " We list ! we list !" 
Second Witch. " I hear a blabbing." 
Third Witch. " You'll soon hear stabbing !" 
Fourth Witch. " Or plunge in water : 
Fifth Witch. " Hush ! hush ! 'tis slaughter—" 
Sixth Witch. " The traitor's quaffing ;" 
Seventh Witch. " And wild with laughing." 
First Witch. " He's now betraying — " 
Second Witch. " His friends huzzaing." 
Third Witch. " But there is one there," 
Fourth Witch. " Who finds no fun there." 
Fifth Witch. " Up breaks the party." 
Sixth Witch. They're all quite hearty." 
Seventh Witch. " And homeward's veering ;" 
First Witch. " The traitor's steering." 
Second Witch. " There's one quite near him — " 
Third Witch. " I see— I hear him—" 
Fourth Witch. " A dagger's heaving ;" 
Fifth Witch. " Tis downwards cleaving." 
Sixth Witch. " There's blood, and sighing ; 
Seventh Witch. " The traitor's dying." 
And then they united in the annexed chorus, at the termi- 
fttion of which they vanished. 

" Hurra ! — let's away ; 

As his hand-maids so loving, 
We must make no delay 
In preparing his oven." 
The departure of the witches was followed by a groaning 
at some distance, like that of a person dying in agony. And 
the sounds approached nearer, and nearer ; and at length I 
beheld the source from whence they proceeded ; namely — a 
human head dripping with gore, which appeared in the cen- 
tre of the red light, and immediately over the gulf it was 
emitted from. The face was writhing in agony, and the 
eyes rolling in horror ; and the head was held by the hair in 
a firmly clenched hand, in connection with which I could 
see no arm, or other supporter ; and I was endeavoring to 
pierce the gloom behind for a solution of this mystery, when 
a voice of thunder exclaimed : 

" Behold the head of a traitor" 



24 

To which the head itself thus answered : 

" Even so — Tis even so ! 

Well have I deserved the blow ; 

And the pangs which soon I'll know 

In the burning lake below. 

Wo ! wo ! wo ! wo ! 

Mortal, read thy fate in mine ! 

Shouldst ever break thy oath divine ; 

Should ought by thee be e'er revealed, 

Which thou hast sworn to keep concealed ! 

But let me go where gloom allures me, 

For man abhors, and God abjures me ! 
And the writhing head was dropped into tho gulf, which 
instantly closed amidst shrieks of " I burn ! I burn ! I burn ! 
I burn ! I burn !" rising distinctly through a chorus of fien- 
dish exultation and laughter. 

Greatly shocked and excited, I rushed from this frightful 
spot, but still found no rest ; for at almost every step I trod 
on some creeping thing, which seemed to bite at me, and 
which appalled me with its snakey hiss, or mandrake groa^ 
while the air was horrible with the hooting of owls, tm 
croaking of ravens, and the shrill voice of the bird of warn- 
ing : 

To whit a whoo ! to whit a whoo ! 

I rested against a stone. A voice exclaimed, " Beware ! — 
you are sitting on my tomb !" I kicked something before me» 
which might have been a scull. It howled, " I am Morgan's 
head !" I put down my hand. It came in contact with an 
enormous toad. I began to suspect that I was in a horrible 
dream ; for the utmost stretch that my fancy might allow, to 
the genius and powers of Odd-Fellowship, could not cope 
with such frightful realities ; — and I was beating my fore- 
head to awaken my senses, when I was grasped by the 
shoulder by an immense spectre, and swung through the air 
as though I were an infant. 

My eyes being now familiar with the darkness, I could 
perceive that this figure had a severe, forbidding, fiendish 




The Traitor's Doom. 



25 

face, and wings like a bat. It uttered no word, but dragged 
me onwards, and grasped me so tightly that I could scarcely 
breathe. 

I might have been thus situated for about five minutes, 
when the spectre halted, and swayed me to and fro several 
times, as if to obtain an impetus to heave me to a distance, 
when, suddenly, there was a bright, silvery light, by 
which I perceived that the demon held me over a dreadful 
abyss, which appeared to be fathomless. Again he sus- 
pended me at arm's length over that awful gulf, and then 
swayed me back, with an expression of countenance which 
denoted that he was poising me for the final swing ; but at 
that instant a seraphic form presented itself, whereon the 
spectre released me with a spasmodic start, and plunged 
headlong into the vortex, making the place ring again with 
shrieks of execration and despair. 

And then the seraphic form (which really made me fearful 
with its excessive beauty,) for the first time broke silence, 
thus : 

" Welcome happy neophyte ! 

Thou hast stood thy trial bravely, 
But oh, remember well this night ; 

And still reflect upon it gravely ! 
So shalt thou be a brother true, 

Of this most high and mighty order ; 
So shalt thou, step by step pursue, 

From humble " Peer" to kingly " Warder." 

Heaven loves the faithful — keep thy faith 

Erect, unsullied and unshaken ! 
Heaven loves the man who'd sink in death, 

Before he'd break an oath he's taken. 
Farewell, farewell, my brother dear ; 

Let nothing from thy duty move thee, 

And nothing shalt thou have to fear, 

For Heaven shall guide, and man shall love thee." 

And then the angel seemed to melt into space, or rather to 

be absorbed by the light which its presence had occasioned ; 

and darkness had resumed its sway, and I was wondering 



26 

what would be the next mystery in order, when I was startled 
from my reflection by a repetition of the uproar of gongs 
and thunder, and at the same instant I was slid down through 
an inclined funnel into a spacious room, among a large as- 
sembly of men, several of whom were oddly disguised. 

This apartment was but dimly lighted, and had a mysteri- 
ous appearance ; but these were trifles compared with my 
late experience, and were easily overlooked in my happiness 
to be once more among beings positively human. Many of 
these persons, as I said, were oddly disguised, and some of 
them were attired as females ; but what surprised me most, 
was a slanting, serpentine road, in the middle of the room, 
which commenced at the mouth of a huge jar, at one end, 
and terminated near the ceiling, at the other. At the apex 
of this inclined gangway, in a drapery of well-imitated clouds, 
sat an old man, who, as soon as I entered, exclaimed, 

" The goat ! — the goat ! — Bring forth the goat !" 

And then I expected to have to ride the gauntlet, on a 
genuine goat, according to the prevalent notion of Masonic 
and Odd Fellow initiations. This,' however, is a popular 
error. But the old man's exclamation was followed by the 
issuing forth from the jar, or rather through it, of a train of 
persons — one of whom, by the way, was mounted on a ma- 
chine nearly as large as a sheep, and in the form of a bee, 
which was so life-like that I could scarcely persuade myself 
that it. was an automaton. And then, having stripped naked, 
according to order, and redressed myself in an old trowsers, 
jacket and shirt — but no shoes or stockings — a huge collar was 
placed around my neck, and I was mounted on the back of a 
stout man, who headed the procession„on the inclined plane, 
and up we went, to the music of a clarionet, played by a per- 
son who sat on the left of the master of the ceremonies. 

Arrived as far as we could go, the latter addressed me 
thus: 

" Brother ! we have received a good account of thee from 




Mercy Triumphant. 



27 

the region of shadows ! Spectres, spirits, and demons, thou 
canst cope with ; and now it is for us to see if thou art also 
equal to the pleasant antics of thy fellows — which is aptly 
called the physical test of the spirit of subordination — before 
we admit thee to the final ceremony. Remember, that what- 
ever is done to thee is by command of the order, and hence 
that thou must not oppose it, either in act, look or thought. 
Moreover, it is done to purify thee, even as gold is refined by 
fire. Now, brother, receive one of the punishments of thy 
presumption in aspiring to be a member of this mightiest of 
fraternities." 

And the last word had scarcely passed his lips, before at 
least twenty persons commenced, in a most hearty and ener- 
getic manner, to pinch, buffet, pull, tweak, and otherwise ill- 
use me, until I was as sore as a bile all over, and had not a 
single stitch left on my back. Nevertheless, I bore every- 
thing like a stoic, until one of my tormentors menaced me 
with a red-hot poker ; on which, becoming indignant, I swore 
that if he touched me I would strike him ; when, "sudden as 
a lightning flash, all was darkness — the gongs, and thunder 
again broke in with their infernal clamor — a mighty voice, 
as if through a speaking trumpet, shouted, " take the first re- 
ward of thy insubordination /" and in the succeeding moment, 
in consequence of the gangway's assuming a more upright 
position, I was rolled down headlong into a great reservoir 
of water, which was at least six feet deep. 

I now certainly. thought that the end was come — not of the 
ceremony, but of my own life — for I expected nothing less 
than death by drowning ; but I had scarcely time to count 
ten, before the water left me, when the bottom of the vessel 
giving way, I was precipitated up to my neck into the centre 
of a huge sack, which was stuffed all round to the bulk and 
somewhat to the appearance of a bale of wool ; and then, 
— being at the time about half way between dead and alive 
— I found myself into the centre of another large room, in 



28 

which were at least a hundred persons, about a third of 
whom were partially disguised. 

Some of these men were playing at soldiers ; others blow- 
ing a furnace under a cauldron ; and more again, were en- 
gaged in cynical legal and political disputes, the meanings of 
which were afterwards explained to me ; but as these would 
be tedious to give in detail, and friends have advised me to 
reserve them for a court of justice, in case this publication 
should be followed by any legal action, I have concluded to 
omit them for the present. 

In front of me were two pulpits, one over the other — in 
the most exalted of which sat the Arch Inquisitor ; and in 
the inferior one, the Noble Grand. 

" Behold, a newly elected brother, proved in the furnace 
and baptized in the faith !" cried the Noble Grand. 

" But who will stand his warrant ?" inquired the Arch In- 
quisitor. 

" We will, to the death !" responded about twenty per- 
sons. 

* And what will you do," continued the Inquisitor, " in 
case he betrays your confidence ?" 

" Kill him I" replied my sponsors, sternly ; and to -give 
their words the greater effect, eaeh brandished aloft a gleam- 
ing dagger as he spoke. 

"Now, worthy neophyte," resumed the Arch Inquisitor, 
addressing myself, " Hearken to the summing up of thy du- 
ties, and let the court hear under oath that thou understand- 
est them both singly and in the aggregate. Heretofore, thou 
wert many things ; now all is submerged in the Order of Odd 
Fellowship, which henceforth must be more to thee than thy 
father ; thy mother ; thy wife ; thy children ; thy friends ; 
thy country ; thy everything, but God. Thou must honor it, 
and support it, and fight for it, and die for it, above all things ; 
and yet, above all these again, thou must obey it and keep its 
secrets. Remember — and let my words sink deep, deep into 



29 

thy soul — that hundreds of thousands are interested in thy 
faith ; and hence, that if thou breakest it, thy individual life 
will be regarded but as a drop in the ocean, in comparison 
with the honor and safety of the whole. Thou hast now a 
million of sworn friends ! Who can harm thee, whilst thou 
art worthy of their support 1 Thou would'st then have a 
million of sworn enemies ! Who could save thee from their 
vengeance ? Doth thy soul fully comprehend and thoroughly 
digest all that I have spoken?" 

I replied, " It does." 

" Wilt thou do all that is therein required of thee ?" 

" I will." 

" Cross thy hands before thee, and swear." 

" I obeyed ; and swore to submit myself in all things to 
the glory, honor and advantage of the order, both individually 
and collectively ; when the Inquisitor continued, 

" The order must be thy first consideration ; thyself the 
next ; thy brother the third ; and then as thou wiliest. Thou 
must never fight against a faithful Odd Fellow ; or swear 
against him ; or in any manner oppose his preferment. Thou 
.must vote for an Odd Fellow for any office he may seek, in 
preference to all others. Thou must interpose whatever 
obstacles thou canst between the law and any Odd Fellow 
whom it seeks to distress. And if on a jury for the trial of an 
Odd Fellow, thou must not reflect upon his guilt or inno- 
cence, but acquit him without compromise, for the sake of 
Brotherhood and the honor of the Order — even of that Order 
which must henceforth be more to thee than Country or 
Government, or Law, or President, or King, or all things 
earthly, past, present, or to come. Again cross thy hands, 
and swear !" 

And doing as I was commanded, I pledged myself to the 
fulfilment of all the foregoing fearful obligations by a solemn 
oath ; after which, the Inquisitor proceeded : 

" Now repeat the final oath which I will dictate to thee. 
and thou wilt have perfected thy initiation." 



Whereupon he repeated the following oath, which I 
pledged with enthusiastic solemnity, for — and to my shame 
be it spoken — I was at the time proud of my position, and 
most devoted and single-minded in my zeal. 

Henceforth, let good or ill betide, 

I make Odd Fellowship my bride ; 

To give it of my inmost heart, 

The warmest and the purest part. 

No earthly thing I'll place before it, 

But next to God himself adore it ! 

I'll keep its oaths above all others ; 

Its brothers aid above all brothers ; 

Its laws, shall be my ruling laws ; 

Its cause, my soul's most sacred cause ; 

For it, my energies I'll cherish ; 

For it, I'll labor, fight, or perish ; 

Howe'er "'twould view a thing, I'll view it; 

Whatever it bids me do, I'll do it ; 

Til scorn all law and legislation ; 

That seelis a brother's degradation ; 

Though all the laws of men he break, 

Against him oath Til never take ! 

Should prisons hold, Til seek to find him. 

The means to burst the bonds that bind him. 

Til aid him still, whatever comes of it, 

To every place of trust and profit ; 

And hold him still, while lingering here, 

(In every thing that makes life dear — 

As fame, power, freedom, honor, pelf,) 

The next in order to myself, 

The Order first, myself the next, 

My brother third ! Lo ! that's the text, 

From which henceforth, without a flaw, 

The sermon of my life Til draw ! 

And as I treat these oaths of mine, 

Letter for letter — line for line — 

Deal with me, oh ! ye powers divine. 

Even as I keep them, cheer and nurse me ; 

Even as I break them, scorn and curse me ; 

Even as I keep them, when I die 

Among the angels let me dwell ; 
Even as I break them, may I lie 

Throughout eternity in hell ! 



31 

And this oath was responded to by a hundred solemn 
" aniens" in concert, accompanied by a yet more fearful crash 
of mingled sounds than I had yet heard. And then there 
was a period of darkness, and silence, dismally relieved by 
the flashes of lightning, and the rumbling of thunder. And 
in the midst of this confusion, I was conveyed in a twinkling 
into a small apartment, where I found my own clothes. And 
when I had dressed myself, I was introduced formally into 
the " Hall of State" where all the members present shook 
hands with me. And then (alas, the day !) I was pronounced 
by the Noble Grand " A worthy, free, and accepted Brother of 
the Illustrious Order of Odd Fellows." 

I might now add a great deal about signs, tokens, knocks 
of admission, passwords, the ceremony of opening Lodges, 
and so forth ; but these would be found of but trivial interest 
and of no importance whatever; and moreover, they are 
frequently changed ; so that to dwell upon them would be 
time and labor thrown away. The Grip, however, is stan- 
dard, and therefore I will explain it. It is formed by locking 
the third and fourth fingers of the right hands, and bringing 
the points of the thumbs together; the brothers, at the same 
time, looking fixedly into each others eyes ; and, if there is 
no witness present, whispering " Secrecy or Death !" 

To enter into the mysteries of the different degrees, would 
also be labor in vain, as they are prosy and common-place ; 
nor is it worth while to mention the names of all the various 
grades, from "humble Peer" (the first step) to "Kingly 
Warder," (the highest honor,) including Secretaries, Trea- 
surers, Tribunes, Noble Grands, Arch Inquisitors, Patriarchs, 
Sires, and about fifty others. 

In fact, the Initiation is the grand, the absorbing secret : 
and the binding of the Brotherhood by dreadful oaths to cling 
to each other through good or evil — through right or wrong 
(even to the resistance of law and justice, or the subversion 



32 



of government) the great danger to be apprehended ; and 
therefore I have written everything in these connections 
which I could remember, or otherwise get possession of. 

It may be asked if all Lodges are in possession of such 
costly and tremendous machinery as I have mentioned. Cer- 
tainly not. There is but one set in a city, where all the ini- 
tiations in that city take place ; and there are but four sets 
in the world — viz., in London, Paris, Constantinople, and 
Calcutta — equal to that of New York. The celebrated 
Maelzel has the credit of preparing the one I have described, 
at a cost of little less than a hundred thousand dollars ; but, 
however reason and philosophy may laugh at such things, 1 
cannot avoid thinking that the devil had a hand in it. I re- 
peat, that if I am called into a court of justice in relation to 
this pamphlet, I will establish all that I have said and much 
more ; and I sincerely trust that the Government will see the 
importance of bringing about such a result — seeing that it is 
now made fully aware of a mighty and a still increasing 
danger, which threatens its very existence. And I also re- 
peat my apprehension that this publication may cost me my 
life ; but I felt that I owed it as a duty to my country and my 
religion, and therefore I abide the issue with a firm heart and 
an approving conscience. 





■+-HAX 






